Has anyone ever fired a seemingly normal shotgun shell, only to have thier gun completely frozen and unable to extract (or open the action) ?

The gun was an old (and faithfully reliable 870) and the shell was a winchester upland game load. I fired at a bird and heard a very quiet report compared to normal; the bird dropped, full of shot just as normal, but upon trying to chamber a new round I found the action completely stuck.

I had to very very forcefully grab the slide with both hands and slam it down, with the butt of the gun on the ground to get the action to open and the shell to eject. . . I am probably very luck that the shell actually came out instead of just tearing the rim off, considering how much force it took to open.

P.S. The gun continues to work perfectly and I shot several more birds that afternoon with the same box of shells.

BigJimP

October 25, 2012, 02:39 PM

Yes, I've seen it happen ...( not with my own guns ) ...but at my local range once in a while....and typically its the shell that is a little out of spec that causes the issue ....but if the gun isn't clean and properly lubed / or parts are really starting to wear it can happen as well.

At the very least...I'd suggest you completely strip the gun down ( take out the trigger group, etc ) and thoroughly clean and lube - and inspect - everything and reassemble.

publius

October 30, 2012, 09:23 AM

Had it happen with duck shelld that had developed a litttle rust. My sophisticated solution was the same as your, deppress slide release and smack the butt on the ground.Got to be good for the extractor!

idek

October 30, 2012, 07:07 PM

Between my brother and I (he has an 870, I have a 500), we've had a few shells get stuck in the chambers. Every time it involved inexpensive Winchester shells. We stopped using those shells and haven't had problems since.

300magman

November 1, 2012, 08:36 PM

BigJimP - In this case the gun is in great shape, and I just went through it about 50 rounds ago (as I always do before the season), so dirt or lube isn't the culprit

idek - Interesting !! It was a cheap winchester that I was firing at the time.
I have already decided to give up on pretty much all winchester ammo due to very inconsistently light loads and the occasional "big boomer" that recoils like a monster and sometimes blows the birds to bits. This day I just happened to find one in the pocket of an old coat and decided to give it a proper send off.
I've also had some cheap bulk box rifle ammo that flattened primers badly and one that didn't even have a flash hole. FYI a LR Primer with next to no room for expansion creates enough pressure to stick a bolt pretty solid.

So yes, I'm off of Winchester's cheap stuff...maybe all Winchester ammo.